Billy Zane has always been a big kid at heart, according to a top producer.

The actor was a clown on the set of the hit 1997 film Titanic, Jon Landau claims. The producer added nothing has changed in the 15 years since they filmed the disaster picture. He was talking at the London premiere of the 3D version of the movie yesterday.

"He's an artist and he's a fun loving guy, he's out there, he's always having a good time. Billy's great," Jon told Cover Media on the red carpet last night.

Jon added working on the film was like living in dormitory. He says the accommodation for cast and crew was built in a way that meant they were forced to bond.

"We built one facility where all the cast had their dressing rooms so it was like a dorm and we were in the hallways together and hanging out together, we had a game room and it was great," he said.

While he admits Billy is a jokester, Jon says he is a hard worker. The producer joked the only member of the team who needed to be taken in hand was himself.

"I only had to discipline myself," he laughed before adding, "No, nobody had to be disciplined. Everybody thought that they were part of making something special and they just gave up themselves and it was really great."

He may have had no problems with the crew but Jon admits there were technical difficulties on set. He recalls the biggest mishap when trying to create a scene on the sinking of the ship.

"The first time we tried to implode the glass above the staircase, the water didn't release so everybody's waiting to run away from the water and it never came," he said.

Titanic, directed by James Cameron, is based on the passenger linter than sank in the North Atlantic Ocean in 1912 after hitting an iceberg on a voyage from Southampton to New York.

The new 3D version is set to be released worldwide from April.